Search results for: market acceptance

Authors: Mircea Pastrav, Horia Constantinescu

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The construction industry is currently trying to develop sustainable reinforced concrete structures. In trying to aid in the effort, the research presented in this paper aims to prove the efficiency of modified special hybrid moment frames composed of discretely jointed precast and post-tensioned concrete members. This aim is due to the fact that current design standards do not cover the spatial design of moment frame structures assembled by post-tensioning with special hybrid joints. This lack of standardization is coupled with the fact that previous experimental programs, available in scientific literature, deal mainly with plane structures and offer little information regarding spatial behavior. A spatial model of a modified hybrid moment frame is experimentally analyzed. The experimental results of a natural scale model test of a corner column-beams sub-structure, cut from an actual multilevel building tested to seismic type loading are presented in order to highlight the behavior of this type of structure. The test is performed under alternative cycles of imposed lateral displacements, up to a storey drift ratio of 0.035. Seismic response of the spatial model is discussed considering the acceptance criteria for reinforced concrete frame structures designed based on experimental tests, as well as some of its major sustainability features. The results obtained show an overall excellent behavior of the system. The joint detailing allows for quick and cheap repairs after an accidental event and a self-balancing behavior of the system that ensures it can be used almost immediately after an accidental event it.

Keywords: Modified hybrid joint, seismic type loading response, self-balancing structure, acceptance criteria.

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Authors: Mohammad Namazi, Mohammad Sadeghzadeh Maharluie

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Predicting earnings management is vital for the capital market participants, financial analysts and managers. The aim of this research is attempting to respond to this query: Is there a significant difference between the regression model and neural networks’ models in predicting earnings management, and which one leads to a superior prediction of it? In approaching this question, a Linear Regression (LR) model was compared with two neural networks including Multi-Layer Perceptron (MLP), and Generalized Regression Neural Network (GRNN). The population of this study includes 94 listed companies in Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE) market from 2003 to 2011. After the results of all models were acquired, ANOVA was exerted to test the hypotheses. In general, the summary of statistical results showed that the precision of GRNN did not exhibit a significant difference in comparison with MLP. In addition, the mean square error of the MLP and GRNN showed a significant difference with the multi variable LR model. These findings support the notion of nonlinear behavior of the earnings management. Therefore, it is more appropriate for capital market participants to analyze earnings management based upon neural networks techniques, and not to adopt linear regression models.

Keywords: Earnings management, generalized regression neural networks, linear regression, multi-layer perceptron, Tehran stock exchange.

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Authors: F. Pagliara, F. Mauriello

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The objective of this paper is to investigate the relationship between the increase of accessibility brought by high speed rail (HSR) systems and the tourism market in Italy. The impacts of HSR projects on tourism can be quantified in different ways. In this manuscript, an empirical analysis has been carried out with the aid of a dataset containing information both on tourism and transport for 99 Italian provinces during the 2006-2016 period. Panel data regression models have been considered, since they allow modelling a wide variety of correlation patterns. Results show that HSR has an impact on the choice of a given destination for Italian tourists while the presence of a second level hub mainly affects foreign tourists. Attraction variables are also significant for both categories and the variables concerning security, such as number of crimes registered in a given destination, have a negative impact on the choice of a destination.

Keywords: Tourists, overnights, high speed rail, attractions, security.

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Authors: Isaac Kofi Mensah

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The manual system of voting has been the most widely used system of electing representatives around the globe, particularly in Africa. Due to the known numerous problems and challenges associated with the manual system of voting, many countries are migrating to the electronic voting system as a suitable and credible means of electing representatives over the manual paper-based system. This research paper therefore investigated the factors influencing adoption and use of an electronic voting system in Ghana. A total of 400 Questionnaire Instruments (QI) were administered to potential respondents in Ghana, of which 387 responded representing a response rate of 96.75%. The Technology Acceptance Model was used as the theoretical framework for the study. The research model was tested using a simple linear regression analysis with SPSS. A little of over 71.1% of the respondents recommended the Electoral Commission (EC) of Ghana to adopt an electronic voting system in the conduct of public elections in Ghana. The results indicated that all the six predictors such as perceived usefulness (PU), perceived ease of use (PEOU), perceived free and fair elections (PFFF), perceived credible elections (PCE), perceived system integrity (PSI) and citizens trust in the election management body (CTEM) were all positively significant in predicting the readiness of citizens to adopt and use an electronic voting system in Ghana. However, jointly, the hypotheses tested revealed that apart from Perceived Free and Fair Elections and Perceived Credible and Transparent Elections, all the other factors such as PU, Perceived System Integrity and Security and Citizen Trust in the Election Management Body were found to be significant predictors of the Willingness of Ghanaians to use an electronic voting system. All the six factors considered in this study jointly account for about 53.1% of the reasons determining the readiness to adopt and use an electronic voting system in Ghana. The implications of this research finding on elections in Ghana are discussed.

Keywords: Credible elections, democracy, Election Management Body (EMB), electronic voting, Ghana, Technology Acceptance Model (TAM).

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Authors: Chun-Der Chen, Yi-Wen Fan, Cheng-Kiang Farn

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In today-s competitive global business environment, the concept of supply chain management (SCM) continues to become increasingly market-oriented, shifting the primary driver of the value chain from supply to demand. Recent recommendations encourage researchers to focus investigations on the supply chain process integration (SCPI) capabilities that integrate a focal firm with its network of suppliers and business customers to create value for it. However, theoretical and empirical researches pertaining to the antecedents and consequences of a focal firm-s SCPI capabilities have been limited and piecemeal. The purpose of this study is to investigate the critical determinants and consequences of a focal firm-s SCPI capabilities. We test our proposed research framework using a sample of 139 sales managers of manufacturing industries in Taiwan, our research findings show that (1) both perceived business customer-s power and focal firm-s market-oriented culture positively influences a focal firm-s SCPI capabilities, and (2) SCPI capabilities positively influence a focal firm-s SCM performance, both operational and strategic benefits. Implications for practitioners and researchers and suggestions for future research are also addressed in this study.

Keywords: Supply chain process integration capabilities, Perceived business customer's power, Market-oriented culture, Supply chain management performance.

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Authors: D. Kubiliute

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The Republic of Lithuania is known as a trusted location for global business institutions and it attracts investors with its competitive environment for financial service providers. Along with the aspiration to offer a strong results-oriented and innovations-driven environment for financial service providers, Lithuanian regulatory authorities consistently implement the European Union's high regulatory standards for financial activities including sustainability-related disclosures. Since the European Union directed its policy towards transition to a climate-neutral, green, competitive and inclusive economy, additional regulatory requirements for financial market participants are adopted: disclosure of sustainable activities, transparency, prevention of greenwashing, and other. The financial sector is one of the key factors influencing the implementation of sustainability objectives in the European Union policies and mitigating the negative effects of climate change – public funds are not enough to make a significant impact on sustainable investments, therefore directing public and private capital to green projects may help to finance the necessary changes. The topic of the study is original and has not yet been widely analyzed in Lithuanian legal discourse. There are used quantitative and qualitative methodologies, logical, systematic and critical analysis principles, hence the aim of this study is to reveal the problematic of the implementation of regulation on sustainability in the Lithuanian financial sector. Additional regulatory requirements could cause serious changes in financial business operations: additional funds, employees and time have to be dedicated in order the companies could implement these regulations. Lack of knowledge and data on how to implement new regulatory requirements towards sustainable reporting causes a lot of uncertainty for financial market participants. And for some companies it might even be an essential point in terms of business continuity. It is considered that the supervisory authorities should find a balance between financial market needs and legal regulation.

Keywords: Financial, market participant, legal, regulation, sustainability.

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Authors: Mateusz Rak

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Objective: The paper aims to present various sources of competitive advantage which may occur when an enterprise strategically applies its concept of corporate philanthropy. Methodology: The review of the literature and available reports on the research regarding corporate philanthropy. Results: Strategic philanthropy is a positive phenomenon. Unfortunately, enterprises in Poland do not see all positive sides of such activities yet. Three kinds of corporate philanthropy may be described. They are to fulfil a social duty, improve the company reputation and gain a competitive edge. Practical implications: Showing enterprises the advantages of taking philanthropic actions, in particular, a large role of strategic philanthropy in gaining a competitive edge in the market as well as how to avoid negative consequences of corporate philanthropy. The paper presents corporate philanthropy on a few layers: as a CSR element, actions generating values in products, actions improving a corporate image in the market, altruist actions of employees.

Keywords: Corporate philanthropy, corporate social responsibility, corporate foundations, CSR.

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Authors: Iracema Machado de Aragão Gomes, Íkaro Daniel Carvalho Barreto, Suzana Leitão Russo

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Policies that support entrepreneurship are keys to the generation of new business. In Brazil, seed capital, installation of technology parks, programs and zero interest financing, economic subsidy as Program First Innovative Company (PRIME) are examples of incentive policies. For the implementation of PRIME, in particular the Brazilian Innovation Agency (FINEP) decentralized operationalization so that business incubators could select innovative projects. This paper analyzes the program PRIME Business Incubator Center of the State of Sergipe (CISE) after calculating the mean and standard deviation of the grades obtained by companies in the factors of innovation, market potential, financial return economic, market strategy and staff and application of the Mann-Whitney test.

Keywords: Entrepreneurship, innovation, technology parks, business incubators.

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Authors: Anam Azam, Muhammad Rafiq

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The study identified the socio-economic and demographic factors of both married and unmarried females in third world countries. Almost all the countries have same problems but we have selected Pakistan as a sample country. The main purpose of this study was to examine which factors forced women to participate in labor market. So the best technique of data collection was survey of both married and unmarried females between the ages of 20 to 49. Two models (probit and logit) were used to analyze the factors which effect on FLFP. The result showed that some factors e.g. age; education and marital status have significant effect on FLFP. The findings showed that educated women and those who belong to joint families are more participate because of financial pressure.

Keywords: Education, Financial status, Family pressure Labor Market participation.

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Authors: M. F. Wu, F. T. Cheng, C. S. Wu, M. C. Tan

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It is a critical time to upgrade technology and increase value added with manufacturing skills developing and management strategies that will highly satisfy the customers need in the precision machinery global market. In recent years, the supply side, each precision machinery manufacturers in each country are facing the pressures of price reducing from the demand side voices that pushes the high-end precision machinery manufacturers adopts low-cost and high-quality strategy to retrieve the market. Because of the trend of the global market, the manufacturers must take price reducing strategies and upgrade technology of low-end machinery for differentiations to consolidate the market.By using six key success factors (KSFs), customer perceived value, customer satisfaction, customer service, product design, product effectiveness and machine structure quality are causal conditions to explore the impact of competitive advantage of the enterprise, such as overall profitability and product pricing power. This research uses key success paths (KSPs) approach and f/s QCA software to explore various combinations of causal relationships, so as to fully understand the performance level of KSFs and business objectives in order to achieve competitive advantage. In this study, the combination of a causal relationships, are called Key Success Paths (KSPs). The key success paths guide the enterprise to achieve the specific outcomes of business. The findings of this study indicate that there are thirteen KSPs to achieve the overall profitability, sixteen KSPs to achieve the product pricing power and seventeen KSPs to achieve both overall profitability and pricing power of the enterprise. The KSPs provide the directions of resources integration and allocation, improve utilization efficiency of limited resources to realize the continuous vision of the enterprise.

Keywords: Precision Machinery Industry, Key Success Factors (KSPs), Key Success Paths (KSPs), Overall Profitability, Product Pricing Power, Competitive Advantages.

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Authors: Shobhit Mittal

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Headcount budgeting stands as a pivotal element in organizational financial management, extending beyond traditional budgeting to encompass strategic resource allocation for workforce-related expenses. This process is integral to maintaining financial stability and fostering a productive workforce, requiring a comprehensive analysis of factors such as market trends, business growth projections, and evolving workforce skill requirements. It demands a collaborative approach, primarily involving Human Resources (HR) and finance departments, to align workforce planning with an organization's financial capabilities and strategic objectives. The dynamic nature of headcount budgeting necessitates continuous monitoring and adjustment in response to economic fluctuations, business strategy shifts, technological advancements, and market dynamics. Its significance in talent management is also highlighted, aligning financial planning with talent acquisition and retention strategies to ensure a competitive edge in the market. The consequences of incorrect headcount budgeting are explored, showing how it can lead to financial strain, operational inefficiencies, and hindered strategic objectives. Examining case studies like IBM's strategic workforce rebalancing and Microsoft's shift for long-term success, the importance of aligning headcount budgeting with organizational goals is underscored. These examples illustrate that effective headcount budgeting transcends its role as a financial tool, emerging as a strategic element crucial for an organization's success. This necessitates continuous refinement and adaptation to align with evolving business goals and market conditions, highlighting its role as a key driver in organizational success and sustainability.

Keywords: Strategic planning, fiscal budget, headcount planning, resource allocation, financial management, decision-making, operational efficiency, risk management, headcount budget.

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Authors: Mehdi Shami Zanjani, Roshanak Rouzbehani, Hosein Dabbagh

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Although current competitive challenges induced by today-s digital economy place their main emphasis on organizational knowledge, customer knowledge has been overlooked. On the other hand, the business community has finally begun to realize the important role customer knowledge can play in the organizational boundaries of the corporate arena. As a result, there is an emerging market for the tools and utilities whose objective is to provide the intelligence for knowledge sharing between the businesses and their customers. In this paper, we present a conceptual model of customer knowledge management by identifying and analyzing the existing tools in the market. The focus will be upon the emerging British dotcom industry whose customer based B2C behavior has been an influential part of the knowledge based intelligence tools in existence today.

Keywords: Customer knowledge, customer knowledge management, knowledge management, B2C E-commerce.

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Authors: Yaojun Wang, Yaoqing Wang

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Stock selection is an important decision-making problem. Many machine learning and data mining technologies are employed to build automatic stock-selection system. A profitable stock-selection system should consider the stock’s investment value and the market timing. In this paper, we present a hybrid system including both engage for stock selection. This system uses a case-based reasoning (CBR) model to execute the stock classification, uses a decision-tree model to help with market timing and stock selection. The experiments show that the performance of this hybrid system is better than that of other techniques regarding to the classification accuracy, the average return and the Sharpe ratio.

Keywords: Case-based reasoning, decision tree, stock selection, machine learning.

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Authors: Amaral, António, Araújo, Madalena

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This paper seeks to give a general idea of the universe of project portfolio management, from its multidisciplinary nature, to the many challenges it raises, passing through the different techniques, models and tools used to solve the multiple problems known. It is intended to contribute to the clarification, with great depth, of the impacts and relationships involved in managing the projects- portfolio. It aims at proposing a technique for the project alignment with the organisational strategy, in order to select projects that later on will be considered in the analysis and selection of the portfolio. We consider the development of a methodology for assessing the project alignment index very relevant in the global market scenario. It can help organisations to gain a greater awareness of market dynamics, speed up the decision process and increase its consistency, thus enabling the strategic alignment and the improvement of the organisational performance.

Keywords: Project Portfolio Management Cycle, Project Portfolio Selection, Resource Assignment, Strategy Alignment technique

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Authors: Manu Krishnan, Phil Jacoby

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In this paper, we discuss the paradigm shift in bank capital from the “gone concern" to the “going concern" mindset. We then propose a methodology for pricing a product of this shift called Contingent Capital Notes (“CoCos"). The Merton Model can determine a price for credit risk by using the firm-s equity value as a call option on those assets. Our pricing methodology for CoCos also uses the credit spread implied by the Merton Model in a subsequent derivative form created by John Hull et al . Here, a market implied asset volatility is calculated by using observed market CDS spreads. This implied asset volatility is then used to estimate the probability of triggering a predetermined “contingency event" given the distanceto- trigger (DTT). The paper then investigates the effect of varying DTTs and recovery assumptions on the CoCo yield. We conclude with an investment rationale.

Keywords: CoCo, Contingent capital, Bank Capital, Tier1 Capital

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Authors: Mncedisi Trinity Dewa, Andre F. Van Der Merwe, Stephen Matope

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Tool, Die and Mould-making (TDM) firms have been known to play a pivotal role in the growth and development of the manufacturing sectors in most economies. Their output contributes significantly to the quality, cost and delivery speed of final manufactured parts. Unfortunately, the South African Tool, Die and Mould-making manufacturers have not been competing on the local or global market in a significant way. This reality has hampered the productivity and growth of the sector thus attracting intervention. The paper explores the shortcomings South African toolmakers have to overcome to restore their competitive position globally. Results from a global benchmarking survey on the tooling sector are used to establish a roadmap of what South African toolmakers can do to become a productive, World Class force on the global market.

Keywords: Competitive performance objectives, lead time, toolmakers, world-class manufacturing.

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Authors: Raif Parlakkaya, Ahmet Diken, Erkan Kara

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This paper examines the relationship between corporate governance rating and stock prices of 26 Turkish firms listed in Turkish stock exchange (Borsa Istanbul) by using panel data analysis over five-year period. The paper also investigates the stock performance of firms with governance rating with regards to the market portfolio (i.e. BIST 100 Index) both prior and after governance scoring began. The empirical results show that there is no relation between corporate governance rating and stock prices when using panel data for annual variation in both rating score and stock prices. Further analysis indicates surprising results that while the selected firms outperform the market significantly prior to rating, the same performance does not continue afterwards.

Keywords: Corporate governance, stock price, performance, panel data analysis.

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Authors: Yu J. Chiu, Chia H. Yeh

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Innovation is more important in any companies. However, it is not easy to measure the innovation performance correctly. Patent is one of measuring index nowadays. This paper wants to purpose an approach for valuing patents based on market reaction to patent infringement litigations. The interesting phenomenon is found from collection of patent infringement litigation events. That is if any patent litigation event occurs the stock value will follow changing. The plaintiffs- stock value raises some percentage. According to this interesting phenomenon, the relationship between patent litigation and stock value is tested and verified. And then, the stock value variation is used to deduce the infringed patents- value. The purpose of this study is providing another concept model to evaluate the infringed patents. This study can provide a decision assist system to help drafting patent litigation strategy and determine the technology value

Keywords: Patent valuation, infringement litigations, stock value, artificial neural networks.

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Authors: Rizauddin Ramli, Jaber Abu Qudeiri, Hidehiko Yamamoto

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Nowadays the market for industrial companies is becoming more and more globalized and highly competitive, forcing them to shorten the duration of the manufacturing system development time in order to reduce the time to market. In order to achieve this target, the hierarchical systems used in previous manufacturing systems are not enough because they cannot deal effectively with unexpected situations. To achieve flexibility in manufacturing systems, the concept of an Autonomous Decentralized Flexible Manufacturing System (AD-FMS) is useful. In this paper, we introduce a hypothetical reasoning based algorithm called the Algorithm for Future Anticipative Reasoning (AFAR) which is able to decide on a conceivable next action of an Automated Guided Vehicle (AGV) that works autonomously in the AD-FMS.

Keywords: Flexible Manufacturing System, Automated GuidedVehicle, Hypothetical Reasoning, Autonomous Decentralized.

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Authors: C. Mătusescu, C. Mares, C. Gilia

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The Implementation of the Union law faces major challenges today. If for a long period of time, the Community and the Union have persevered in their legislative vocation, now one can notice that this large legislative quantity has complicated the task of knowledge and of application the European standards. Under these circumstances, it became necessary, in order to give effectiveness to the European legislation, the development of some operational application criteria and the generation of some new implementation tools. The correct application of the European Union legislation by the national public administrations was considered by the European Commission as being crucial for further integration and proper functioning of the internal market. Among the initiatives launched in the past years to promote the exchange of good administrative practices in the correct application of European Union legislation, SOLVIT net has proved to be one of the most effective.

Keywords: Cooperation, European law, informal mechanisms, internal market, SOLVIT.

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Authors: Maja Martinovic, Valentina Zarkovic, Hrvoje Maljak

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Europe is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world, in which tourism occupies a significant place among the most relevant economic activities, and this applies to the Republic of Croatia as well. Based on this study, the authors intended to encourage and support the creation of an effective tourism policy in Croatia that would be based on the profiling of certain target groups. Another objective was to compare the results obtained from the customer analysis with the market analysis of the tourism industry in Croatia. The objective is to adapt the current tourist offer according to the identified needs and expectations of a particular tourist group in order to increase the attractiveness of Croatia as a tourist destination and motivate greater attendance of the targeted tourist groups. The current research was oriented towards the Russian market as the target group. Therefore, the authors wanted to encourage a discussion on how to attract more Russian guests. Consequently, the intention of the research was a detailed analysis of Russian tourists, in order to gain a better understanding of their travelling motives and tendencies. Furthermore, attention was paid to the expectations of Russian customers and to compare them with the Croatian tourist offer, and to determine whether there is a possibility for an overlap. The method used to obtain the information required was a survey conducted among Russian citizens about their travelling habits. The research was carried out on the basis of 166 participants of different age, gender, profession and income group. The sampling and distribution of the survey took place between May and July 2016. The results provided from the research indicate that Croatian tourism has certain unrealized potential considering the popularization of Croatia as a tourist destination, and there is a capacity for increasing the revenues within the group of Russian tourists. Such a conclusion is based on the fact that the Croatian tourist offer and the preferences of the Russian guests are compatible, i.e. they overlap in many aspects. The results demonstrate that beautiful nature, cultural and historical heritage as well as the sun and sea, play a leading role in attracting more Russian tourists. It is precisely these elements that form the three pillars of the Croatian tourist offer. On the other hand, the profiling revealed that the most desirable destinations for the Russian guests are Italy and Spain, both of which provide the same main tourist attractions as Croatia. Therefore, the focus of the strategic ideas given in the paper shifted to other tourism segments, such as type of accommodation, sales channels, travel motives, additional offer and seasonality etc., in order to gain advantage in the Russian market, the Mediterranean region and tourism in general. The purpose of the research is to serve as a foundation for analysing the attractiveness of the other tourist destinations in the Russian market, as well as to be a general basis for a more detailed profiling of the various specific target groups of the Russian and other tourist groups.

Keywords: Croatia, Russian market, target groups, tourism, tourist destination.

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Authors: Ziyad Aljarboua

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In this paper, we present a technical and an economic assessment of several sources of renewable energy in Saudi Arabia; mainly solar, wind, hydro and biomass. We analyze the environmental and climatic conditions in relation to these sources and give an overview of some of the existing clean energy technologies. Using standardized cost and efficiency data, we carry out a cost benefit analysis to understand the economic factors influencing the sustainability of energy production from renewable sources in light of the energy cost and demand in the Saudi market. Finally, we take a look at the Saudi petroleum industry and the existing sources of conventional energy and assess the potential of building a successful market for renewable energy under the constraints imposed by the flow of subsidized cheap oil. We show that while some renewable energy resources are well suited for distributed or grid connected generation in the kingdom, their viability is greatly undercut by the well developed and well capitalized oil industry.

Keywords: Energy strategy, energy policy, renewable energy, Saudi Arabia, oil.

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Authors: Amel Abdoullah Ahmed Dghais, Mohd Tahir Ismail

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In this paper the core objective is to apply discrete wavelet transform and maximal overlap discrete wavelet transform functions namely Haar, Daubechies2, Symmlet4, Coiflet2 and discrete approximation of the Meyer wavelets in non stationary financial time series data from Dow Jones index (DJIA30) of US stock market. The data consists of 2048 daily data of closing index from December 17, 2004 to October 23, 2012. Unit root test affirms that the data is non stationary in the level. A comparison between the results to transform non stationary data to stationary data using aforesaid transforms is given which clearly shows that the decomposition stock market index by discrete wavelet transform is better than maximal overlap discrete wavelet transform for original data.

Keywords: Discrete wavelet transform, maximal overlap discrete wavelet transform, stationarity, autocorrelation function.

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Authors: Josefina Bengoechea, Alex Bell

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Higher education, with its brick-and-mortar facilities and credits-based on hours of study, was developed to serve the needs of a national, industrial, analogue economy. However, the ongoing process of globalization on the one hand, and the emergence of ever-changing needs of employers on the other hand, make this type of process-based education obsolete, and exclusive to students who can afford to pay a full-time tuition and dedicate 4 years of their lives exclusively to study. The creative destruction brought about by new technologies in the 21st century will not only reconfigure the labour market, as millions of jobs will be lost to Artificial Intelligence. The purpose of this paper is to consider if the implementation of technology is the solution to the problems faced in higher education. The paper builds upon a constructivist approach, combining a literature review and research on key publications.

Keywords: Artificial intelligence, employability, labour market, new technology in higher education.

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Authors: Cristian Păuna

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After the widespread release of electronic trading, automated trading systems have become a significant part of the business intelligence system of any modern financial investment company. An important part of the trades is made completely automatically today by computers using mathematical algorithms. The trading decisions are taken almost instantly by logical models and the orders are sent by low-latency automatic systems. This paper will present a real-time price prediction methodology designed especially for algorithmic trading. Based on the price cyclicality function, the methodology revealed will generate price cyclicality bands to predict the optimal levels for the entries and exits. In order to automate the trading decisions, the cyclicality bands will generate automated trading signals. We have found that the model can be used with good results to predict the changes in market behavior. Using these predictions, the model can automatically adapt the trading signals in real-time to maximize the trading results. The paper will reveal the methodology to optimize and implement this model in automated trading systems. After tests, it is proved that this methodology can be applied with good efficiency in different timeframes. Real trading results will be also displayed and analyzed in order to qualify the methodology and to compare it with other models. As a conclusion, it was found that the price prediction model using the price cyclicality function is a reliable trading methodology for algorithmic trading in the financial market.

Keywords: Algorithmic trading, automated trading systems, financial markets, high-frequency trading, price prediction.

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Authors: M. A. Torkamani, S. Mahmoodzadeh, S. Pourroostaei, C. Lucas

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Daily production of information and importance of the sequence of produced data in forecasting future performance of market causes analysis of data behavior to become a problem of analyzing time series. But time series that are very complicated, usually are random and as a result their changes considered being unpredictable. While these series might be products of a deterministic dynamical and nonlinear process (chaotic) and as a result be predictable. Point of Chaotic theory view, complicated systems have only chaotically face and as a result they seem to be unregulated and random, but it is possible that they abide by a specified math formula. In this article, with regard to test of strange attractor and biggest Lyapunov exponent probability of chaos on several foreign exchange rates vs. IRR (Iranian Rial) has been investigated. Results show that data in this market have complex chaotic behavior with big degree of freedom.

Keywords: Chaos, Exchange Rate, Nonlinear Models.

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Authors: Farnaz Motamediyan Dehkordi, Anthony Thompson, Tobias Larsson

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Market competition and a desire to gain advantages on globalized market, drives companies towards innovation efforts. Project overload is an unpleasant phenomenon, which is happening for employees inside those organizations trying to make the most efficient use of their resources to be innovative. But what are the impacts of project overload on organization-s innovation capabilities? Advanced engineering teams (AE) inside a major heavy equipment manufacturer are suffering from project overload in their quest for innovation. In this paper, Agent-based modeling (ABM) is used to examine the current reality of the company context, and of the AE team, where the opportunities and challenges for reducing the risk of project overload and moving towards innovation were identified. Project overload is more likely to stifle innovation and creativity inside teams. On the other hand, motivations on proper challenging goals are more likely to help individual to alleviate the negative aspects of low level of project overload.

Keywords: Innovation, Creativity, Project overload, Agentbased modelling.

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Authors: Mohamed E. Seliaman, M. S. Al-Turki

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This paper investigates the use of mobile phones and tablets for learning purposes among university students in Saudi Arabia. For this purpose, an extended Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) is proposed to analyze the adoption of mobile devices and smart phones by Saudi university students for accessing course materials, searching the web for information related to their discipline, sharing knowledge, conducting assignments etc.

Keywords: Saudi Arabia, TAM, Mobile learning, e-learning, smart phones.

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Authors: Mohammed Saleem Tariq

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The enthusiasm for gluten avoidance in a growing market is met by improvements in sensitive detection methods for analysing gluten content. Paradoxically, manufacturers employ no such systems in the production process but continue to market their product as gluten free, a significant risk posed to an undetermined coeliac population. This paper resonates with an immunological response that causes gastrointestinal scarring and villous atrophy with the conventional description of personal injury. This thesis divulges into evaluating potential inadequacies of gluten labelling laws which not only present a diagnostic challenge for general practitioners in the UK but it also exposes a less than adequate form of available legal protection to those who suffer adverse reactions as a result of gluten digestion. Central to this discussion is whether a claim brought in misrepresentation, negligence and/or under the Consumer Protection Act 1987 could be sustained. An interesting comparison is then made with the legal regimes of neighboring jurisdictions furthering the theme of a legally un-catered for gluten kingdom.

Keywords: Coeliac, litigation, misrepresentation, negligence.

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Authors: L. Agneni, F. Carta, C. Micheletta, V. Tersigni

Abstract:

The development of a qualitative method to profile jobseekers is needed to improve the quality of the Public Employment Services (PES) in Italy. This is why the National Agency for Active Labour Market Policies (ANPAL) decided to introduce a Qualitative Profiling Service in the context of the activities carried out by local employment offices’ operators. The qualitative profiling service provides information and data regarding the jobseeker’s personal transition status, through a semi-structured questionnaire administered to PES clients during the guidance interview. The questionnaire responses allow PES staff to identify, for each client, proper activities and policy measures to support jobseekers in their reintegration into the labour market. Data and information gathered by the qualitative profiling tool are the following: frequency, modalities and motivations for clients to apply to local employment offices; clients’ expectations and skills; difficulties that they have faced during the previous working experiences; strategies, actions undertaken and activated channels for job search. These data are used to assess jobseekers’ personal and career characteristics and to measure their employability level (qualitative profiling index), in order to develop and deliver tailor-made action programmes for each client. This paper illustrates the use of the above-mentioned qualitative profiling service on the national territory and provides an overview of the main findings of the survey: concerning the difficulties that unemployed people face in finding a job and their perception of different aspects related to the transition in the labour market. The survey involved over 10.000 jobseekers registered with the PES. Most of them are beneficiaries of the “citizens' income”, a specific active labour policy and social inclusion measure. Furthermore, data analysis allows classifying jobseekers into a specific group of clients with similar features and behaviours, on the basis of socio-demographic variables, customers' expectations, needs and required skills for the profession for which they seek employment. Finally, the survey collects PES staff opinions and comments concerning clients’ difficulties in finding a new job and also their strengths. This is a starting point for PESs’ operators to define adequate strategies to facilitate jobseekers’ access or reintegration into the labour market.

Keywords: Labour market transition, Public Employment Services, qualitative profiling, vocational guidance.

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